Ride on, cowgirlDOVER — Leslie Dicus is a wonderful athlete with dedication, according to Denise Campbell, Dicus’ dressage coach and certified riding instructor. Dicus, 13, of Dover was named the Arkansas Valley Private Riding Academy (AVRA) rider of the year. The daughter of Dwight and Susan Dicus competes in jumping, dressage, cross country and attends three-day eventing shows across the country. Dicus has traveled with Natalie Smith, her cross country coac...

Local basketball roundup (Jan. 13, 2012)RJHS East 9G 29, Greenbrier 15 The Russellville Junior High Eastside Lady Whirlwinds beat Greenbrier 29-15 Wednesday in River Valley Junior High Conference play. RJHS East led 9-2 after the first quarter, 13-3 at halftime and 25-5 after three. “Our defense was a huge factor in (Wednesday night’s) win,” head coach Nina Chiolino said. “We were able to hold them to three points at halftime.” Alyssa Owens led the way with 11 points for the Lady Wh...

Pottsville teams down Booneville in basketballPOTTSVILLE — The Apaches started fast and never let up in a 62-35 win over Booneville on Friday at George Jones Gymnasium. Pottsville (8-3, 2-1 4A-4 Conference) jumped out to a 15-4 lead after the first quarter and led 37-10 at halftime. The Bearcats finally were able to get some scoring done in the third, and trailed 50-23 entering the fourth. “We came out with a lot of energy tonight on defense, and that led to some transition baskets,” head...

Local basketball roundup (Dec. 13, 2011)Waldron SB 65, Dardanelle 58 WALDRON — Dardanelle kept it close throughout Friday, but the Bulldogs pulled away at the end for a 65-58 win in 4A-4 Conference play. Despite 23 points from Mark Gathright, the Sand Lizards faltered down the stretch. “This was a tough loss for us on the road,” head coach Russell Sturdivant said. “We battled all night and got even with about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. We weren’t ever able to get over...

Local basketball roundup (Dec. 10, 2011)RJHS West JG 35, Greenbrier 31, 2OT The Russellville Junior High Westside Lady Whirlwinds fought a battle Thursday night as they beat the Greenbrier Lady Panthers 35-31 in two overtimes. “I am excited about this win for our girls,” head coach Jason Martin said. “They fought until the end. There were many times throughout this game that things didn’t go our way but the girls hung in their and never gave up. They execetuted well at key times in ...

Local basketball roundup (Dec. 7, 2011)Dover SG 45, Dardanelle 29 DARDANELLE — The Lady Sand Lizards struggled in their 4A-4 Conference opener Tuesday as the Dover Lady Pirates earned a 45-29 win at Sand Lizard Gym. “Dover did a good job tonight on both ends of the court against us,” Dardanelle head coach Kenny McCoy said. “I thought we played hard defensively for most of the first half, but we struggled scoring inside and from the perimeter for the first time this year and it real...

Local basketball roundup (Nov. 30, 2011)Pottsville SG 81, Brinkley 56 CONWAY — The Lady Apaches made quick of the Brinkley Lady Tigers on Monday in the first round of the St. Joseph Tournament in Conway with a convincing 81-56 win. Pottsville pulled ahead 14-6 in the first quarter and led 36-28 at halftime. The Lady Apaches extended the lead to 60-49 in the third and put the game away in the fourth as they outscored Brinkley 21-7 down the stretch. Callie Cox led the way with 22 poin...

Sports briefs (Nov. 23, 2011)Bigelow SG 47, Dover 44 DOVER — The Lady Pirates struggled in the second quarter and couldn’t claw their way back in a 47-44 loss to Bigelow on Tuesday. Dover (4-2) held a 15-14 edge after the first quarter, but the Lady Panthers surged ahead in the second and took a 27-20 lead into halftime. The Lady Pirates closed it to 34-32 after three, but Bigelow was able to close it out in the fourth. Kaitlyn Meador led the way for Dover with 12 points....

Sports briefs (Nov. 22, 2011)RJHS East JG 33, Harrison 22 The Russellville Junior High Eastside Lady Whirlwinds beat Harrison 33-22 in the ninth-grade game, and 21-19 in the eighth-grade game Monday at Whirlwind Gymnasium. In ninth-grade action, the East Lady Whirlwinds (4-2) jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first quarter and extended that lead to 25-11 at halftime. The Junior Lady Golden Goblins narrowed the gap to 27-20 as the teams entered the fourth, but RJHS East hel...

West Whirlwinds win Whirlwind InvitationalAll four Russellville Junior High basketball teams were in action Saturday in either championship games or third-place games at the Whirlwind Invitational in Whirlwind Gymnasium. The West Whirlwinds (3-0) were the lone team from the host school to win the tournament championship, beating Cabot South 48-35 in the final game of the day. Russellville led all the way, but the Junior Panthers made it competitive early. After jumping out to a 12-4 l...

Dardanelle basketball sweeps HectorDARDANELLE — The Sand Lizards used a 23-11 run in the third quarter Friday to put away Hector 68-41 at Dardanelle Gym in nonconference play. “We are very happy to start the season with two wins,” Head Coach Russell Sturdivant said. “(Friday’s) win was a total team effort. We got big contributions from our seniors, led by Alec Pyburn, all the way to our sophomores. The sophomore group was led by Austin Steen and Montarious Grimes tonight on the...

Local basketball roundup (Nov. 18, 2011)Clarksville JG 39, RJHS East 38 The Clarksville Junior Lady Panthers upset Russellville Junior High Eastside 39-38 Thursday in the semifinals of the Whirlwind Invitational at Whirlwind Gymnasium. “I was proud of them,” Eastside Head Coach Nina Chiolino said. “Aside from free throws, we played right to the game plan.” Russellville exploded out of the gates and built an 18-4 lead in the first quarter with a suffocating defense, but Clarksville e...

RJHS West picks up win in Whirlwind InvitationalRussellville Junior High School’s Westside boys defeated Conway Blue 55-52 in the annual Whirlwind Invitational basketball tournament. Westside was led by Andy Campbell with 26 points, followed by Co-Chese Temple Laws with eight and Mark Moyer and Tony Jones with six points apiece. Westside will play Alma in the second round at 5:30 p.m. today at Russellville Jr. High. The Eastside Whirlwinds will play Cabot South at 8 p.m. today. Dardanelle 7...

Dover Junior Pirates win Pope County TournamentBy Kevin Hill sports@couriernews.com POTTSVILLE — Playing on their opponents home court, the Dover Junior Pirates won the Pope County Tournament championship game 46-29 over the Junior Apaches at George Jones Gymnasium on Saturday. It was erroneously reported that Pottsville won the tournament championship over Atkins in Sunday’s edition of The Courier. That game was a semifinals matchup. The Junior Pirates (2-0) fell behind early, 11-8 after ...

Pottsville, Atkins win Pope County tournamentPOTTSVILLE — It was all Pottsville and Atkins in the championship basketball game Saturday as the Junior Apaches and Junior Lady Red Devils netted wins in the finals of the Pope County Tournament at Pottsville’s George Jones Gymnasium. The Junior Apaches (2-0) beat Atkins 30-27, while the Atkins junior girls beat Pottsville 31-23. In the boys game, Jake White and Caleb Moore scored nine and eight points, respectively, as the Junior Apaches rac...

Lady Whirlwinds drop Lady Sand LizardsThe Russellville Junior High Eastside Lady Whirlwinds opened the 2011-12 season Tuesday with a 36-17 win over Dardanelle at Whirlwind Gym, while the eighth-grade Lady Sand Lizards beat Russellville 28-16. In the ninth-grade game, Jocelyn Brown led the way for the Lady Whirlwinds (1-0) and led all scorers with 14 points. Russellville put a stranglehold on the Lady Sand Lizards (0-1) in the first half and took a 24-3 lead into the break. Dardane...

Russellville Middle School record breakers are honored2011 was an exceptional track year at Russellville Middle School as four long-standing track records were broken and the East Boys completed a perfect season winning meets at Greenbrier, Booneville, Heber Springs, Vilonia, Conway and Russellville. “It is an exciting time at RMS,” Coach Joey Fisher said. “With the Cyclone boys winning the state championship last year, there is a renewed interest in track and field. And our middle school kids st...

West beats East 41-16 on Colors DayThe Russellville Junior High Westside Whirlwinds were too much for RJHS Eastside and pulled away for a 41-16 win Tuesday on Colors Day at RHS Cyclone Stadium. Tony Jones carried the ball three times for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns, all in the first half, and the West Whirlwinds built a 35-8 halftime lead. “It’s just an honor for me to watch them play football,” West Head Coach Josh Edgin said. “I told the boys that I’ve had the best seat...

Bragging rights are on the lineThere may not be as much on the line as has been the case in previous years, but the annual Russellville Junior High East-West showdown is still one of the biggest games of the year for these kids. Though they play for different teams, the players attend the same school and many have common classes. The rivalry that develops can become intense, at least on game week. Thankfully, it’s a short week for both teams. “I think it can be tough,” West...

RJHS Volleyball: Utter dominationIn any sport, 63-8 is an amazing record. The Russellville Junior High Eastside (35-1) and Westside (28-7) Lady Whirlwinds dominated the River Valley Junior High Conference teams so thoroughly, other conference teams allegedly said they don’t want RJHS in the conference anymore. The two teams teamed up to go 18-2 in conference play, with the two losses falling on West’s shoulders against the East. Cindy Williams and the Eastside Lady Whirlwinds...